Stranglehold Multiplayer: A Whirlwind of Bullets
Ok guys, heres the long-promised explanation of Strangleholds multiplayer.
The most important thing to know is that everything in the singleplayer game is in multiplayer. Dual-wielding, sliding down banisters, Massive Destructibility, diving, swinging on chandeliers, slow-mo, Precision Aim, Barrage, Spin Attack
Its all there. Of course we had to tweak it all since in multiplayer there are a bunch of super badasses flying around the levels instead of just one, but we did it. We got it all in.
So how does it all work? First off there are two game-modes: deathmatch and team deathmatch. You either try to kill all of the other players in the level, or you work with your teammates to kill all of the players on the other team. Stranglehold is an all out action-fest, and we didnt want to mess with that basic formula in multiplayer. We let you pick the skins and the teams so you can do a free-for-all 6 player battle, a classic 3-on-3 cops vs. triads match, or you can go nuts and play a 5-on-1 Tequilas vs. John Woo (yes, Woo is an unlockable skin).
Just like in the singleplayer game, the more stylishly you kill an enemy, the more style points you get which means the more quickly you fill up the Tequila Bomb Meter. Since it takes a few shots to take out another player, and since someone else can come by and steal your kill, we give you a little bit of style juice each time you damage another player. That way you always get something for slinging bullets at your foes. But the big style points are for kills.
But wait? Wouldnt that totally unbalance the game, since players who are winning are getting rewarded with the ability to do even more devastating attacks? Well, youd think that. But we combat that with two simple mechanics. The first is that we have the origami crane pickups in the levels, which are mostly placed in tricky locations you have to use the environment to reach. Each crane gives you 1/4 of your T-Bomb bar, so you grab a couple of those bad-boys and youre good to go. And secondly, we rebalanced the Tequila Bombs for multiplayer to give each one a really unique personality.
Precision Aim is still a one-shot kill, but unlike singleplayer, you can be damaged when you enter PA. Once you take aim youre a sitting duck, so you only want to use it when you think no one is looking. Or if youre super skilled you can attempt the quick-draw Precision Aim shot. But you have to be super fast and super accurate to pull it off. Its especially unnerving to see someone across the level enter the Precision Aim stance (you know, the one from the end of Hard-Boiled) its the universal sign to dive into cover.
Barrage still gives you unlimited ammo and invulnerability. Barrage is great if you catch someone in a tight corridor. Shotgun barrage is especially devastating, since it lets you project this huge wall of pain out in front of you. But I personally prefer the rocket barrage where you fire an ungodly number of rockets into a group of otherwise distracted enemies. Welcome to boom-town, population: you.
And the Spin
well the spin will still clear a room, but it only takes out enemies that you can see and are roughly on the same level as you. So if youre in a small little room, the only foe youll take out with a spin is the one that walks right up to you. But if you venture out into the middle of one of the levels and spin, you have a chance of racking up four or five kills. Of course, the middle of the room is always a dangerous place in Stranglehold, so theres a nice bit of risk/reward there.
Well what about slow-motion? How did we make Tequila-Time work and be fun in multiplayer? Well, we worked really hard on it. When you start a match everyones Tequila-Time bar is empty. It slowly rises, and only when its totally full can you enter Tequila-Time. When you die it goes back down to empty, so slow-mo is a reward for players who stay alive for awhile. When you enter Tequila-Time everything in the world slows down players, bullets, chucks of the environment that youve blown up everything. If you engaged TT, youre slowed down just a bit, but not quite as much as everyone else. It gives you an advantage over your foes, which you can use to dodge bullets or unload in someones face.
When Tequila-Time is engaged it only lasts for a moment. Its just enough time to pull off a kill or two. If you accidentally engage TT you can cancel out of it, but your bar wont be full anymore and youll have to wait for a bit to engage it again. Also important: we never slow down the camera, so you can still swing your camera around to see whos shooting at you and pop off a few rounds. And just because youre the one that entered TT, it doesnt mean youre going to win the fire-fight. Plenty of times someone else will come out the victor, just because he used the right weapon at the right time.
We did all this to keep players from spamming slow-mo, which would get really annoying. Instead its that trump card you can play right when you need it, making it act a little like a fourth Tequila Bomb.
Ok thats enough for one blog post. Im sure you guys will have questions, even those who have been playing it on XBL.
Patrick Curry
Senior Game Designer
